It’s time for Tennessee to get ready. Throughout the month of September, the seventh annual National Preparedness Month focuses on encouraging Americans to work together to take concrete actions toward being prepared in the event of an emergency. The Tennessee Department of Health is highlighting volunteer service and continuing to recruit and register public health volunteers across the state.

“Recent flooding across the state serves as a reminder that emergencies can happen anytime and anywhere,” said Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN. “The best way to make sure you and your family will be safe during an emergency is to be prepared before disaster strikes.”

Being ready is ensuring that everyone is prepared to respond to, recover from and rebuild from any major incident - whether it’s an influenza pandemic, catastrophic tornado or flood, or extended power outage. TDOH encourages families to check their emergency kits to be sure they include survival essentials and basic supplies such as:
●at least a three-day supply of bottled water and non-perishable
food
●essential medications
●personal hygiene supplies
●first aid kits
●battery operated weather radio
●important family documents (copies of insurance policies,
identification and bank account records)

Families should also review their personal emergency plans for both staying home in an emergency and for evacuation. These plans should include information about where to go in the event of an emergency and who to contact to make sure all family members are safe.

The Department of Health is dedicated to readiness to respond to any
emergency situation. As part of this month-long observance, TDOH is recruiting helping hands to volunteer in the event that a public health
emergency should arise. TDOH uses the Tennessee Volunteer Mobilizer and
regional Medical Reserve Corps units to build a network of medical and
non-medical volunteers to support the public health workforce.

Registered volunteers will be called upon to assist with tasks such as dispensing medications or staffing phone lines if a major public health emergency should arise. All volunteers will be trained for each assigned task, and personnel with all types of skills and/or credentials from doctors and nurses to general volunteers are needed.

“National Preparedness Month is a prime opportunity to get involved,
and remind Tennesseans that the need for the public to be prepared
continues,” emphasized Cooper. “The public is an essential member
of our emergency management team and their preparedness is critical to
our success.”

To become a volunteer, register online at
http://health.state.tn.us/volunteer/than_volunteer.htm indicating
your volunteer preferences, skills, licenses and certification. By
entering and keeping your contact information current, you will be
automatically notified in the event of an emergency.

The TVM is a Web-based system designed to serve as a single,
centralized source of information to ease the intra-state, state-to-state and state-to-federal deployment or transfer of volunteer health professionals and other volunteers. TVM gives Tennessee the ability to quickly identify and assist in the coordination of volunteers in an emergency.

The MRC, housed in the Office of the United States Surgeon General, is
a national network of community-based volunteer units. MRC recruitment
supports existing local agencies throughout the year with preparedness
and response activities. MRC volunteers are registered and deployed
through TVM and are involved in organized efforts at the local level.

National Preparedness Month is sponsored by the Ready Campaign in
partnership with Citizen Corps and the Advertising Council. NPM is held
each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities.